Lobos football slump in a swamp
Turnovers were only part of the problem in blowout at Wyoming
“We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
Pogo, April 22, 1970
It is unknown if cartoonist Walt Kelly, whose creation Pogo the possum uttered the above words, was a football fan. Kelly, through Pogo, was writing about how people were treating the environment at the time.
Even so, within the current environment of the New Mexico Lobos, Pogo’s words are brutally applicable.
The New Mexico Lobos, it now appears, are having one of “those” seasons. The parts haven’t always fit. Key players haven’t always stayed healthy. Game plans haven’t always worked.
Some of their opponents have simply been better — sometimes waaaay better — on that given day.
And Saturday in Laramie, Wyo., the Lobos gave far more than they received. Seven UNM turnovers — five interceptions, two muffed punts — presented the Wyoming Cowboys with a cake walk of a 42-3 victory.
The turnovers, though, were far
from the only problem.
The UNM offense produced a season low of 184 total yards. Breakdowns in pass coverage made two of Wyoming’s six touchdowns embarrassingly easy. And the defense forced zero Wyoming turnovers.
As a result, the Lobos, arguably coach Bob Davie’s most talented UNM team from top to bottom, are 3-5 (1-4 in Mountain West Conference play) after their nationally televised gutting at the hands of the Cowboys. Their path to six wins and bowl eligibility is strewn with obstacles, notably road games against Texas A&M (Nov. 11) and San Diego State (Nov. 24)
Home games against Utah State this week and UNLV on Nov. 18 are by no means gimmes. The Rebels scored a stunning upset Saturday over Fresno State — the same Fresno State team that throttled the Lobos 38-0 on Oct. 14. And Utah State routed UNLV, 52-28, on Oct. 21.
Lobos coach Bob Davie wasn’t thinking that far ahead after the Wyoming debacle.
“We’ve got some issues and some problems we’ve got to solve,” he said, “and we don’t need to look any farther than that right now.”
There are no problems and no issues, junior linebacker Alex Hart said, that can’t be solved. Six wins and a bowl bid, he believes, remain attainable goals.
“I believe in this team, and I believe in these guys,” Hart said, “because there’s a lot of good athletes and a lot of good kids.
“The offense, they’re gonna figure it out. Our identity is to run the ball on offense, and we’re gonna keep finding a way to run the ball. Defensively, we’ve got athletes. We’ve got guys who can play.”
There should be no finger-pointing, Hart said, regarding those seven turnovers.
“Unfortunately, we kept turning the ball over,” he said. “But on defense, we could have stopped them from scoring as much as it happened.
“It’s unfortunate, but we’re gonna learn from that and we’re just gonna keep getting better . ... That’s all we can do.”
CHARGE ACCOUNT: The Lobos came out passing at Wyoming in anticipation, Davie said, of the Cowboys’ defensive game plan.
“We thought they’d be running the ends up the field in kind of a mesh charge,” he said.
A mesh charge is a defensive tactic specifically designed to disrupt the option, and Wyoming did exactly that. But the Lobos’ response, to throw the ball, backfired spectacularly: just 69 yards passing and five interceptions.
Mesh charge or no mesh charge, Davie said, the Lobos will go back to basics — and find a way to move the ball on the ground consistently.
“It was, I guess, another learning experience that we are who we are,” he said. “When we throw the ball more than 10 times and think we’re gonna out-scheme somebody, or take advantage of those weapons we have at wide receiver, it continues to backfire on us.”
STAT SHEET: In the buildup to the Wyoming game, Davie bemoaned the fact that UNM ranked 103rd in the nation in turnover margin at minus-five through seven games.
Where are the Lobos ranked now, after their seven-turnovers, no-takeaways performance in Laramie? They rank 127th out of 129 teams, at minus-12.
And guess who’s No. 1? Right — Wyoming, at plus-16.